Related

Events

Academisation News

I am delighted to share with you the details of a proposal for Etching Hill C of E Primary School to convert to Academy status by joining Future Generation Trust; a prestigious Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) currently made up of three excellent schools.

The Governing Board has agreed to consult on joining the Trust with a view to converting to Academy status from 1st September 2019. This consultation is open to all, including school’s parents, pupils, staff, pre-school and the wider community. We want to hear your views and establish if there is any significant objection for the Governing Board to take into account when making its final decision. The consultation period will end on Friday 15th February 2019. Please share any questions/views with us and we will use this page to share these along with our responses, as well as keeping you up to date with the Academisation process.

Consultation Comments/Questions Raised

1. I am concerned about the continuation of the support that my child receives from Staffordshire County Council in terms of SEN. Will this be able to continue if the school becomes an Academy and will other support through the Local Authority be accessible also where there is a need for this?

This will not change when we become an academy. Nor will the LA’s obligations to support pupils with SEN, in fact they will actually improve. The Local Authority retains responsibility for:

Provision of pupil referral units or education otherwise for a pupil who is no longer registered at an academy

Co-ordination of admission arrangements

2. I am concerned about staff turnover, other schools I know that have become an Academy seem to lose staff and I feel this could jeopardise my child's learning.

We have chosen to work with Future Generation Trust because we feel confident that while the infrastructure supporting our school will of course alter, that our Governing Board and Headteacher will continue to be responsible for staffing and recruitment. We are very fortunate to have a wonderful staff team here at Etching Hill, this is something that we recognise is a huge part of our success and will continue to be highly valued as we go through the Academisation process and beyond.

3. How will the school's relationship with the Church be impacted by the conversion to Academy status?

We are extremely proud of our Christian distinctiveness and also the close relationship that we have with the Church of the Holy Spirit. This will not change or lessen when we become an Academy, in fact two of the other three schools within the MAT are also Church of England schools. Mrs Sue Whitehouse will remain as our Chair of the Governing Board, further strengthening our connection to both the Diocese and the church itself.